[WATCH] PN pledges immediate removal of gas tanker if electricity generation is not affected

PN would remove LNG tanker if country can do without

The Nationalist Party is pledging the immediate removal of the LNG tanker berthed outside Delimara if his government finds that it is not required for the generation of electricity.

"An engineer told me that the gas power plant is on cold standby. If we find that we don't need the LNG tanker for the generation of electricity, we will remove the tanker and immediately start work on the gas pipeline," Busuttil said, adding that the work would be financed through EU funds and a capital investment by the private sector.

As things currently stand, the power station generates 150MW from the gas plant and 110MW after having ceased generating electricity through the use of heavy fuel oil.

The Delimara 1 plant is on cold standby, to be used as backup.

"We never had problems with the generation of electricity before the construction of the gas power plant," Busuttil said.

The gas power plant was built by the Labour administration when it pledged to switch from heavy fuel oil to gas.

The PN leader accused Joseph Muscat of failing to keep his pledge to construct the power plant in two years.

Asked to provide the timelines of this implementation, Busuttil said he won't do so because "this government doesn't give out any information" and therefore his administration would need to first take stock of the situation.

Busuttil also said that he would make use of the BWSC plant.

"This tanker behind me is the monument of corruption," he reiterated.

Busuttil said that his government would first move to reduce fuel prices by 5c, then after establishing how much the state would have saved through the use of the interconnector, move to reduce utility bills.

Following reports by the Times of Malta that Asad Shukat Ali, who Vitals Global Healthcare Ltd "has occasionally engaged as a consultant, received tens of thousands of euros in payments in a Pilatus Bank account", Busuttil reiterated that his government would investigate the contract whilst working on a modernisation plan for the Gozo General Hospital using EU funds whilst allowing the Barts Medical School to complement the investment.